Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - Reread Review (Mario)

I read Myriam’s reread review before it went up on Shared Universe Reviews and I was delighted to see she wrote different things than I did about the first book. There were, of course, some similarities but as always, different people can like the same thing for different reasons. For the purpose of my post, I’ll focus on the differences between my appreciation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone than Myriam.

One of the great things about rereading a series, especially a fantasy or science fiction series where world building plays a considerable role, is seeing old things with a new perspective. It can be a double edged sword however because world building is something that’s done progressively and sometimes things from earlier on in the series won’t always match up seamlessly with some of the later novels. It’s more problematic for some series and less for others but I have to admit, that Philosopher’s Stone being J. K. Rowling’s first published work, it holds up pretty darn well to a sober second look.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone - Reread Review (Myriam)

It is very interesting to reread the first book of a series after having finished the last. You read with an entirely different perspective. You are more keenly aware of minute details that, at first seem unimportant, but take on an entirely different scope when seen in a new light. I believe this is why I am enjoying the reread so much, it’s because I have a whole new outlook on it all. It’s an entirely new discovery process, we have come full circle. You know how sometimes it’s nice to eat dessert before dinner? I feel that way about rereading the series once you know how it ends. It’s a real treat!

In the first chapter of the book, on the night Harry is dropped on the Dursley’s door step, we know exactly what led up to that event, what went down in Godrick’s Hollow. It feels like you are privileged to certain information that the characters in the book are not. We surely recognize Sirius’ motorcycle right away and understand the symbolism of Harry’s godfather being present in his life when he has just lost both his parents. The fact that Hagrid was riding the motorcycle represents the “parental” role he will one day play in Harry’s life. Basically, Hagrid arriving on Sirius’ motorcycle foreshadows that Hagrid and Sirius will somewhat become surrogate parents to Harry.